HCR266.DOC

WHEREAS, the Legislature enacted section 342D-70, Hawaii Revised Statutes, in 1993 to authorize the counties to establish programs regulated by the Department of Health for the recycling of gray water from residential units for the purpose of irrigating lawns and gardens; and

WHEREAS, Senate Standing Committee Report No. 645 (1993) found that gray water recycling "is consistent with the State's environmental policy, which calls for the conservation of natural resources and the recycling of waste water" and that it will help alleviate the impact of decreasing county water supplies and the significantly increased burden on waste water treatment and disposal systems; and

WHEREAS, Senate Standing Committee Report No. 645 (1993) found that "oversight of private wastewater systems falls within the purview of the Department of Health" and that the Department of Health should, therefore, have "jurisdiction over the gray water recycling program"; and

WHEREAS, House Standing Committee Report No. 1209 made similar findings and noted that "[w]ith the water tables in each county decreasing, the use of gray water recycling will help alleviate some of the demand for water for the purposes of irrigation"; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Health subsequently adopted, Chapter 11-62, Hawaii Administrative Rules, to establish definitions and design standards for gray water recycling systems; and

WHEREAS, according to its Wastewater Branch, the Department of Health has approved at least one gray water recycling system in the District of Kona, Island of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, none of the counties have applied to the Department of Health to establish a gray water recycling program; and

WHEREAS, each of the counties has established building codes including provisions from the Uniform Plumbing Code, but none of the counties has adopted the gray water provisions of the Uniform Plumbing Code, which are significantly more restrictive than the provisions of section 342D-70, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and Chapter 11-62, Hawaii Administrative Rules; and

WHEREAS, in 2007, the Legislature enacted Chapter 107, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by which the State Building Code was established, effective July 1, 2007; and

WHEREAS, section 107-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes, provides that the State Building Code consists of, among other things, the most recent edition of the Uniform Plumbing Code; and

WHEREAS, section 107-28, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires the counties to adopt building codes based on the State Building Code by July 1, 2009; and

WHEREAS, section 107-28, Hawaii Revised Statutes, permits each county to delete from its building code any of the State Building Code provisions it deems "necessary to protect health, life, and property, and to preserve the order and security of the county," except where the statute discloses an express or implied intent that the statute shall be exclusive or uniform throughout the State; and

WHEREAS, none of the counties has adopted the gray water provisions of the Uniform Plumbing Code, as incorporated into the State Building Code; and

WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu, for example, may decline to adopt the gray water provisions of the Uniform Plumbing Code, as incorporated by the State Building Code, at least in areas served by its sewer system, because it needs gray water to move sewage and sludge through its gravity lines to its sewage treatment plants; and

WHEREAS, legislation was considered in 2008 that would place responsibility for developing gray water recycling programs with the Department of Health but the Director of Health testified that the Department lacks the resources to oversee implementation of a gray water program for residences served by county sewer systems; and

WHEREAS, in consideration of the Director of Health's 2008 testimony, House Bill No. 763 was introduced in 2009 to require the Department of Health to implement a gray water recycling program for premises not served by county wastewater systems and authorize the counties to establish gray water recycling programs for premises that are served by county wastewater systems, provided the standards for those programs are no more restrictive than those set forth in the State's administrative rules; and

WHEREAS, the Comptroller, on behalf of the State Building Code Council, testified in opposition to House Bill No. 763 because, in his opinion, it conflicted with the process set forth for adoption by the counties of the State Building Code; and

WHEREAS, the Director of Health testified in opposition to House Bill No. 763, echoing the testimony of the Comptroller and not even mentioning her 2008 testimony that the Department lacked the resources to implement gray water recycling for premises served by county wastewater systems; and

WHEREAS, section 342D-70, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and Chapter 11-62, Hawaii Administrative Rules, and the State Building Code, through its incorporation of the most recent Uniform Plumbing Code, authorize residential gray water recycling programs; and

WHEREAS, section 342D-70, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and Chapter 11-62, Hawaii Administrative Rules, disclose an express or implied intent that they shall be exclusive or uniform throughout the State and preempt and the gray water provisions of the Uniform Plumbing Code, as incorporated by the State Building Code, and the counties' power to adopt, amend, or reject those provisions, as they relate to proposed gray water recycling systems in areas not served by county waste-water systems; and

WHEREAS, county building departments will not issue permits for construction or modification of dwellings that incorporate gray water recycling systems, notwithstanding clear authority to do so in State law;

WHEREAS, the burden on water supplies and on wastewater treatment systems has only increased since the Legislature authorized the establishment of gray water recycling programs in 1993; and

now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the Senate concurring, that the Director of Health is requested, in consultation with the State Building Code Council and the counties, to develop a plan by which:

(1) Section 342D-70, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and Chapter 11-62, Hawaii Administrative Rules, may be given effect for residential premises not served by county wastewater systems, including review and approval by the Department of Health of plans for proposed gray water recycling systems;

(2) The gray water provisions of the Uniform Plumbing Code, as incorporated by the State Building Code, may be made applicable to residential premises served by county wastewater systems to the extent that those provisions are no more restrictive than the provisions of section 342D-70, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and Chapter 11-62, Hawaii Administrative Rules, and any gray water reuse guidelines developed by the Department of Health; and

(3) Designs proposing inclusion of gray water recycling systems in residential premises not served by county waste-water systems shall be routed by the appropriate county to the Department of Health for review and approval as part of the process by which building permits are reviewed and approved; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to submit a report to the Legislature setting forth its plan, together with any recommended legislation, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, the Comptroller, and the Mayor and the Chairperson of the Council of each county.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Gray Water; Building Permits

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	266
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009
STATE OF HAWAII